Writing your way to success in college

Table of Content 1.

Quality in Academic Writing: Is it just song and dance?

2.

Writing a College Application essay

3.

Paper Outline

4.

Writing a winning academic essay made easy

5.

Annotated Bibliography

6.

How to write a research proposal

7.

Writing a dissertation- A step by step guide

8.

Writing styles guide: i. The APA citation style ii. MLA writing guide iii. Chicago/ Turabian style iv. Harvard guide

9.

Resources

1. Quality in Academic Writing: Is it just song and dance?

All online academic paper writingompa c nies (without exemption) promise to offer custom essays, research papers, etc, that are of the highest quality. We can get intoreasons why many do not liveup to expectations but let’s focus on what real quality academic writing is all about so that we can spot a con a mile away before getting ripped off.

The question that needs to be asked therefore is: can the quality of an academic paper be determined before you get that failing grade? What should you look for when you receive your paper from the paper writing service of choice?

While the checklist below does not guarantee you a passing grade, it gives you a very accurate idea of whether you are getting your money’s worth. If you weigh your paper against it and find that it deviates widely from the checklist, chances are that your paper is poorly written, rushed

1. Following tutor’s instructions: All writing guides in the world are not a substitute for your tutor/lecturer’s instructions. Your paper should strictly seek to fulfill all the requirements handed over by the examining authority. If a grading rubric

is

provided then care should be taken to follow it to the letter.

2. Organization and structure: The paper you present should be neat as this would appeal to the reader’s eye. Basically most academic papers are structured in a similar manner. The most common structure for essays and term papers is • Abstract (optional) • Introdu ction • Bo dy paragra ph s • Co nclusion • Re feren ces • App end ix (optional) In the same way, research papers, dissertations and theses follow a general structure as follows: • Abs tract • Introdu ction • Literature review • M ethodology • Analysis • Resul ts • D isc ussion

• Conclusion • List of sources • Appendix (optional) 2. The Introduction: A great paper starts with… duh… a great introduction. This is the point of entry to yo ur paper. A good introduction should:

• Open the main issues of the question • Indicate the way the question will be addressed • Outline how the essay is structured • Offer a statement of the types of conclusion to be drawn.

3. Coherence: The most important aspect of the body of any paper is clarity of ideas (coherence) and smooth transition from one idea to the next. Poor quality papers are incoherent and difficult to read.

4. Paragraphs that support the central argument: Another sign of a quality paper is that the body paragraphs support the thesis statement one after the other. Paragraphs that have a vague relationship with the main argument of the paper are an indication of poor quality.

5. In text citations and referencing: It is paramount to give credit to the sources you

use in yo ur paper. W hether you qu ote any author word by word or just para phra s e an idea from ot her litera ry works, you are r equired to doc um ent yo ur so urces within the body of your text (in text ci tation ) and includ e full citation at the end of y our tex t. Th ere are different styles of documenting sources such as APA, MLA and Chicago/Turabian among others. A good quality paper will adhere strictly to the chosen formatting guide. Inconsistencies when documenting sources are a sign of a Similarly, when listing down the sources at the end of the paper, this should be done according to the particular formatting style. Additionally the full bibliographic information should be presented whenever possible.

6. Grammar and language: Poor grammar and incorrect use of language is a major giveaway in academic paper writing. Typos and run-on sentences will spoil even the well researched paper. Other tutors and professors will give a failing grade to papers characterized by poor grammar run-on sentences and typos. These indicate lack of thoroughness. As such, papers should be proofread carefully and all sentences that make no sense or are difficult to read rewritten.

7. Conclusion: It is easy to give the least attention to your conclusion.

However your conclusion is meant to tie everything together in support of your main argument or thesis statement. Here you can call for action and give recommendation if appropriate. You may also open room for more research in the same times. A conclusion is not supposed to merely be a summary of your body. Neither are you to

introduce anything new that has not been covered in your text.

8. Credibility of sources: The sources you use in writing your paper will say a lot about the quality of your research. It is important to use authority sources.

Newspapers, magazines and some historical books, government and organizational websites are good primary sources while journals, books are good secondary sources. It is prudent to use a mixture of primary and secondary sources as well as variety of these. Online sources whose academic authority cannot be ascertained such as Wikipedia, answers.com and other article mills should be avoided.

9. Plagiarism. Among our list of vices, plagiarism requires special attention.

Plagiarism is unauthorized or improper use of other people’s work in your paper. Plagiarism can be intentional (where the writer is just trying to be cheeky) or unintentional (the most common form). In academia, plagiarism is a serious offence that has ethics as its key component and depending on your institution’s policy on plagiarism; this offence can have serious consequences including expulsion from college. That’s the bad news; the good news is that plagiarism can easily be avoided. With the advent of internet, literacy materials have become very readily available. This is a good thing but has unfortunately been abused thus increasing incidences of plagiarism in academia. There are numerous affective tools in use today to check for plagiarism in submitted work. Here are a few tips to help you avoid plagiarism in your paper:

a. Be original: In research the goal is not for you to repeat and reorganize what has been done before. Instead you are expected to shed some new light on your chosen topic. You use other people to help in the thought process as well as to support your assertions.

Otherwise try to approach your topic with an open and independent mind.

b. Paraphrase: Use your own words to explain somebody’s ideas. You are s till requ ired to give credit to this s ource.

c.

Cite your sources properly: Documenting your sources in accordance to the instructions given by your lecturer/tutor will save you much trouble.

2. Writing a College Application essay The prospect of writing a college admission essayfraught is with anxiety. This is because this single activity can make or break your chances of maki ng it to a college ofyour choice. The following tips are suggested to ease the pain. 3 steps are recommended:

1. Brainstorming This step is a journey of self discovery whose aim is to bring to the fore your accomplishments, strengths, struggles, victory over challenges, passions, adhering philosophy and dreams. These are to be synthesized into distinguishing attributes that can be presented in your essay to set you apart from the hundreds of applicants. Below are some questions to guide you:

Are there some notable accomplishments in your life? These need not to be just the ones you’ve been recognized for but even commonplace stuff can be important if placed in the context of your life.

• Do you have any unique attribute • Is there some challenging moments in your life that shaped your perspective?

• Consider struggles, victories and defeats. What was your response?

• What are your favorite books, movies and how have they influenced your life?

• What are you passionate about?

• What activities have you participated in that espouse values sought out by the institution?

• What is your guiding principle?

• What are your long-term goals and how does the college fit into these?

During this process,you canseek input from family, friends and people whoknow you aswell as reading sample admission essays.

2. Drafting your essay Having gone through the brainstorming stage, you now have a better idea of the elements you want to incorporate into your essay. Here are some things to focus on and others to avoid Focus on: • Strength of personality and not on things you have done •

Finding patterns and connections; for example does your election as the editor for the high school magazine and your achievement at the state essay writing competition reflect on your passion for

•

Selec ting a topic that allows you to combine your promi nent personal attributes and qualities into a sound paper while addressing your aspiration to be admitted into the particular institution.

• Provide evidence how you will fit into the institution’s environment.

Avoid • Repeating information provided elsewhere in your application • Jokes and being funny unless you must.

•

Listing weaknesses unless you are willing to explain how they make you better suited for admission.

• Controversial topics unless you acknowledge counter arguments • Topics that will turn off people • Lying or trying to carve the image of superman It is prudent to allocate sufficient time for the 2 processes above. We recommend any time between a few days to a few weeks for the

3. Tips for writing your final draft Impressing an admission officer with your application essay is not easy. However, here are some tips that will go a long way into improving your chances.

•

Be creative. You can bring to life even the dullest of topics by being creative. You can begin your essay with an appropriate quote or an anecdote but you must be careful that it fits flawlessly into the rest of you essay.

•

Take time to write a great introduction. The introduction gives you the opportunity to make the first impression. As such, your introduction should be well thought, clear

and should not appear to be hastily written. You must grab the interest of the admission officers and possibly raise ques tion in their min d s that will ma ke them want to read further.

•

Your admission essay must fit together. Make sure that the body paragraphs fit your introduction. You must not jump from one idea to the other in a haphazard manner and neither should you try to cram everything into your essay. This will only give your essay an appearance of being scattered. Furthermore, the admission committee understands that the essay can only contain snippets of who you are.

•

Be Lively. Your essay must be interesting to read. Give your audience details that allow them to clearly see the setting. Use names where possible as their use give the essay a human feel. Use of imagery will also heighten the reader’s interest since your experiences feature prominently as supporting details.

•

Be Yourself. The admission essay is about you, your feelings, how you think, and your response to various happenings. How did you respond when you won/didn’t win the basketball competition? What does that reveal about you? The way your mind works is what distinguishes you from everybody else and you need bring that out.

•

Portray a pleasant personality. College is a place where you are required to interact with other students as well as the faculty and staff. Find a way in your essay of showing that you are easy to get along with.

•

Honesty the best policy. It is not necessary to overstate achievements or invent events that did not happen. Just use the truthful, seemingly unremarkable

experiences creatively to bring out your strongest personality traits •

Avoid big words. “Uninhibited wits like Mort Sahl may excel in derogating much that is sacrosanct to the American bourgeois. These untrammeled iconoclasts

are

securing

an

ever-burgeoning

following

among

the

intelligentsia…” yawn, yawn!

•

Revise and then revise some more. Go through your paper again and again and correct any mistakes you might find. Make sure your essay is free from spellings, punctuations, grammar errors. If you are unsure of the meaning of a word, use the dictionary. You can also give your draft to others who can offer some critique.

•

Give your writing a break. Spend time away from your draft essay and determine the changes you would wish to make. Come back later and look at it with a fresh eye.

• Take Help: Use professional editing services.

3. Paper Outline This is a general plan of how information will be presented in your paper.

For some papers, all you need is to jot down the main points so that you do not forget any important element as you write. However, for many other papers, you will find it useful to create an outline to help organize your ideas into a rational paper. There are different kinds of outlines namely: • Scratch outline • Topic outline Scratch outline as the name suggests is a string of notes single words or phrases written down with the purpose of refreshing the memory during the writing process.

Topic outline is the most commonly used kind of outline. It consists of words or phrases that are numerically arranged to show order as well as relative importance of the information.

Example:

Title: Career as a Police Officer I.

Financial aspect A.

B.

Disadvantages 1.

Low pay

2.

No opportunity to make extra income

Advantages 1.

2.

II.

Job Security a.

Permanent employment

b.

Attractive retirement benefits

Potential for success in business or politics after retirement

Social aspect A.

Disadvantages 1.

Limited social interactions

2.

Unpredictable transfers difficult for family

3.

Discipline often wearisome

Sentence Outline: In this kind of outline, each heading is a complete sentence.

Example: Title: Career as a Police Officer I.

Financial considerations are a big factor when choosing a career A.

B.

There are several disadvantages to a career in the police department 1.

The pay is low compared to other civilian jobs

2.

There is no opportunity to make extra income

There are however some appealing advantages 1.

Job security is at its peak a.

This is permanent employment

b.

The likelihood of being fired are

minimal c.

The retirement

benefits are attractive d.

Promotions are slow but steady

2. There is a high potential for success in business or politics after retirement

II.

The social aspect should also be put into considerations A.

B.

The most apparent disadvantages include: 1.

social interactions are usually more restricted

2.

Unpredictable transfers are generally difficult for family

3.

The strict discipline is often wearisome

The advantages however outweigh the disadvantages 1.

This career can be very fulfilling if one is fitted for the job

2. There numerous opportunities to travel and see different places 3.

An annual paid leave is very appealing

Outline Form Numbering lettering, indention, punctuation and other aspects of formal outlines adhere to specific conventions. The numbering and Indention should be consistent throughout. Below is a typical form of sentence and Main statement …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………….

I.

…………………………………………………………… (Use roman numerals for key headings) A. …………………………………………………….. (A capital letter for 1st subhead) 1. ………………………………………………. (Use Arabic numeral for 2nd subhead) 2.

………………………………………………. a. ……………………………………….. (Use small letters for the 3rd subhead) b. ………………………………………..

1) …………………………………. (Use Arabic numeral with parenthesis for 4th subhead)

B. ……………………………………………………..

II.

……………………………………………………………

Do not endeavor to complicate your outline. Two levels of subheads are usually sufficient for short papers while there’s hardly any need to go beyond the third subhead for longer papers.

4. Writing a winning academic essay made easy Essays a re common clas s room assig nments used to tes t your knowledge as well as your writing skills. A great essay will follow some basic rules in addition to fulfilling your institutions requirements on essay writing.

To many students, writing an essay can pose several challenges. As such most students end up with poor or average essays.

You can however make your av erage essay a great essay. This is how: 1. Choose your topic wisely. Sometimes you may not have a choice about the topic as it may have been decided by the requirements but if you do, choose a topic that is simple, interesting to you and current.

2.

Prepare. Think about everything you will need and put things down on paper as they come to you. What type of essay is best suited to your personality, is it a persuasive, argumentative, descriptive essay etc.

3. Create an outline to make your work organized and keep your audience in mind.

4. Devote sufficient time to writing a great introduction and thesis statement.

5. The body section should be used to present your arguments. Each paragraph should consist of one well supported idea. You should ensure a logical and a smooth transition from one idea to the other and one paragraph to the next.

6. Write a conclusion that sums up your argument and calls your audience to action.

7. Edit and proofread your work. Remove sentences that are repeated and those that do not make sense. Correct spelling mistakes, typos and

grammar. You can have a

friend read your work and critique it.

Following these simple rules will greatly improve your essay. It is important to start writing your essay at the earliest possible moment without waiting for a “moment of inspiration”. Ideas will flow better when you start writing not before.

Remember that you will edit your essay afterwards.

Writing an essay introduction The introduction of your essay will determine whether the reader continues reading the rest of the essay or not, whether your audience gets a positive or negative impression of your essay. A good introduction should grab the reader’s attention and give them an idea of your objective.

It gives your reader a point of en try to your essay.

Attention grabber An introdu ction beg ins with an orienta tion which is a gener al disc ussion of yo ur topic that m oves to a v ery s pecific s tatem ent of the core arg ument also known as the thesis s tatem en t. An atten tion gra bb ing s tatem ent is often times used to draw the reader’s interes t. Here are

•

Use a rema rka ble bu t accurate s tate m ent that may or may not be new to yo ur reader. This s en tence s hould be elaborated by a se ntence or two.

• Use a relev ant s tory that illus trates the point you are maki ng. The s tory s hould be

short and appropriate so be careful.

• Dramatize the central issue by a key example, quotation (Bring the issue to life).

•

Avoid long winded expositions and instead let the reader know what you are going to discuss without doing so.

•

Use correct grammar and stay away from slang, complex sentences and difficult vocabulary.

• Keep in mind that your reader may be having many other essays to go through.

Thesis statement A thesis statement basically a state what is your paper is saying/proving. It is your main point or unifying message. This is where you stick your neck out as you stake a claim/assertion. You can adjust it as you look at examples, evidence, statistics, expert testimony facts and figures etc.

Example: “Dropout rates as high as 42% show that affirmative action programs bringing disabled students into national universities have not worked.”

“Although many affirmative action students drop out, those who graduate often have professional careers and serve as role models for other disabled students.”

Remember, a good introduction should:

• Open the main issues of the question • Indicate the way the question will be addressed

• Outline how the essay is structured • Offer a statement of the types of conclusion to be drawn.

Finally, make it easy to transit seamlessly from your introductory paragraph to the body.

5. Annotated Bibliography Sim ply put, an annotated bibliography is a summary or a brief analysis of sources used in researching a particular subject. Writing an annotated bibliography can be an isolated assignment or it could be a part of a larger research project.

Purpose of an annotated bibliography • To evaluate available materials for a particular topic • To examine and sort out sources for research •

To offer an overview of sources that may be helpful to others researching the same topic

•

To gain insights from the available literature before developing your own research ideas

• To demonstrate the quality and depth of the reading you have done for your research

Components of an annotated bibliography • Provide full bibliographic information of the sources • Brief description of the author’s background Summarize the content • Identify the core argument

• Offer a statement of the types of conclusions drawn • Indicate the relevance and usefulness of the source to your research.

Arrange the sources alphabetically, using MLA or APA style as specified by your instructor, and then write a five-to-ten sentence blurb (short description) summarizing each source.

Sample Annotation Gregory, Mann. `Parents Influence is Limited. ` The Chicago Morning News 4 Feb. 1962: 2 7 A. Print.

In this editorial, Gre g ory first claims that people are too qu ick to blame a child’s pare nts if the child does som ething wron g. In fac t, he says, parents mi g ht even enjoy poin ting the finger at other paren ts who have a child in troub le. Howeve r, Greg ory tells us, once he had his own children , he became m ore hu m ble and realized that no m atter how `go od` parents are, children s till do things that are `bad` and ag ainst the `rules` that g uided how they were raise d. This leads him to an exa m ple: a so ng by M argin Gaye, s ugges ting that parents s hould s top trying to m old children `like their own piece of clay.` Finally, Grego ry that they are the ultimate influence on their childre n’s lives.

6. How to write a research proposal

A research proposal can be thought of as an intellectual outline of what you intend to do, why it s hould be done, how you will do it, what you expect to be the res ults and how you will interpret your res ults when you finally s et out to do your project. It is in effect a con tract between you and your s up ervis or, there fore when it is app rove d; it sim ply me an s that the lecturer has given their best jud gm ent and that the ap proach to the resea rch is reas onable and likely to yield an ticipa ted res ults. A clearly done proposal will en able you to co m plete yo ur project on time. A fuzz y, vag ue or we ak proposal will

Save for a few vari ations, a typical research proposal will basically consist of the following components; • The title • Introdu ction • Topic area • Research ques tion • Im portance to knowle dg e • litera ture review

• A review of previous researches • Any preliminary work you had done on the same topic • Methodology •

Involves research

design, sampling techniques, data

collection methods, analytical techniques to be employed, how the data will be interpreted • Expected results • Budget • Bibliography( references) Let us now take a closer look at how these areas are important and in what perspective they should be used.

1. The introduction Topic area A properly chosen title gives a good clue as to what the paper is all about but it is not exhaustive. It should therefore be followed with an introduction which is strong enough to vividly bring out the gist of the research paper. It should be able to provide a brief overview of what the paper is all about, using as few words as possible, to enable the reader to determine if the research is relevant or not.

Research question(s)

It is important that you go right to the topic once it is established. Tell the reader the specific topic you will be add res s ing as well as yo ur inten ded ap proach and finally let them know what they will learn from the pa per.

Importance of the research Let it be known how relevant the whole study is to modern knowledge, how does it relate to similar work done before and why it should be supported or funded, whichever is desirable.

Sample res earch ques tions and a brief introduction to a resea rch pa per;

1.

This research project seeks to explore the impact of power wrangles in African countries on the economies of the countries involved. In particular, it seeks to explain the extent to which regional organizations have failed to help out the member countries caught up in such situations.

2.

Leadership has for a long time been a thorn in the flesh of a majority of African states. Power doesn’t easily change hands in Africa. It doesn’t matter how well planned and executed the election might be, somehow one way or the other there will always be a disgruntled leader somewhere who will find fault with the whole process. According to Bradley (1999), power seems to be more intoxicating than the most potent of wines.

2. Literature review

Literature review is aimed at providing conceptual frame work to enable the reader to better

understand the research questions. It is geared towards demonstrating how well the researcher understands and appreciates the diversity and breath of work that relates to what you are doing. These will include theories, models, assumptions, studies and methodologies that could also be an integral part of your work.

Literature review also serves to unravel the gaps in the knowledge that need to be plugged thereby appropriately positioning your work to fit in and be relevant to the pool the existing of knowledge.

3. Methodology Research design Should be able to clearly explain to the reader how you intend to carry out the research, the methods you intend to employ and why they are relevant to your project. You could also seek to explain why you are not using widely known methods; the reasons could be financial or convenience.

Data collection Briefly describe the instruments you intend to use in collecting your data and how well they fit into your resource availability, time frame and budget. This should help to detect flaws in the plan before they come back to haunt you when you are already started.

Data analysis Data analysis will give an insight into the statistical, empirical and any other techniques you

intend to use in manipulating the data in order to come up with the information you require to answer ques tions.

the

resea rch

Interpretati on It is vital to know how the anticipated results will be interpreted with due consideration to the possible range of outcomes. The different ranges of results could present a whole new interpretation of the results and therefore they need to be properly factored in.

4. Expected results The ex pected res ults provide a connec tion be tween the data analysis and the poss ible outco m es to the theory and the res earch qu es tions initially form ulated. In a nut s hell, it s um ma rizes the sig nifica nce of

5. Bibliography A bibliography is basically a list of all works relevant to your research that you might find useful during the compilation. The references are listed alphabetically at the tail end of the research paper. Let’s now look at the dos and do n’ts when writing a res earch paper.

The dos ·

M ake s ure you paper has a profess ional ou tlook.

·

M ake it as interes ting as possible.

·

Ens ure that it comes out as inform ative as possib le.

路

Write in a way that is easy to read

·

Make use of headings and sub-headings to make your work look organized

·

Include a table of content.

·

Use simple and easy to understand language.

·

Your arguments should be well constructed.

·

Conduct a thorough check of your spelling, grammar and typos.

·

Adopt a relevant referencing format.

The Don’ts ·

Repeat yourself

·

Use an over simplistic language

·

Try to impress your readers by using big words

·

Digress unnecessary

·

Use words whose meaning you are not so sure of

7. Writing a dissertation- A step by step guide Writing a dissertation is an important part to the fulfillment of your graduation program. It is also a part that requires hard work and adequate preparation. Despite the preparations, dissertation writing is likely to remain a daunting task.

Most institutions have therefore come up with ways of supporting their students throughout the dissertation writing process.

Choosing your dissertation topic 路

Take time to think about your topic choice. It is better to begin a few days later than to start earlier only to get stuck along the way due to difficult research topic.

路

Choose a topic that is personally of interest to you.

路 The closer a topic is to real life issues the better. Complicated theoretical expositions

will only serve to overload your projects. ·

Choose as current an issue as possible. A topic such as the pros and cons of e-commerce would have been interesting 10 years ago but we have more current issues today.

·

A complicated dissertation topic will be more challenging to manage so choose a simple topic.

Getting ready -what you need to know • Anxiety usually builds up at the prospect of writing a dissertation.

Do not panic!

• Understand the importance of this project to the success of your academic career.

• Make sure you fully understand the requirements set by the dissertation committee • Think about your topic; do you have a valid research question?

What will you do in carrying out your research?

• Come up with a plan of action. Create a reasonable schedule that allows you to work in bits and stick to it.

•

Know what help you will require and where you may find it.

•

Keep a journal and jot down ideas as they come to you.

•

Create an outline keeping your purpose in mind.

•

You can get help from a professional dissertation writer

Typical Dissertation Structure

Abstract This is an overview of the dissertation and is meant to give the reader a general idea of both your objective and results. You should keep it brief between 75 and 125 words.

Table of Contents Page This displays the arrangement of the main sections and often subsections with respective page numbers. One page where possible is

Chapter 1: Introduction This is a detailed account of your research question and why it is worth examining. State your hypothesis here and give a summary of your conclusion.

Keep it simple, clear and to the point not forgetting that the introduction should be about 10%of the entire project.

Chapter 2: Literature Review In this chapter, you consider other people's ideas and theories in relation to your research. You should compare and contrast at least 10 other sources and a couple of theories/ models. This chapter consists of about 20%of the dissertation.

Chapter 3: Methodology Here you outline and defend your research design. You also explain how you collected

empirical data. Did you use interviews, questionnaires etc? What were the main challenges?

Chapter 4: Findings This is an important chapter in your dissertation and also the largest. It forms about 30% of the project. This is where you bring out the findings deriving from an in-depth analysis of your empirical data. Be careful not to give your interpretation or draw conclusions here.

Chapter 5: Discussion You are now ready to connect the evidence from your own research with aspects of your literature review as well as discuss your main finding.

Chapter 6: Conclusion State the conclusion(s) you draw from your work clearly. What is you take on the effectiveness of your research design? Ensure that all the questions raised in earlier chapters have been addressed adequately. Indicate what further research can be done to strengthen your conclusion and give recommendation if any is required.

Bibliography On a separate page, list all the references such as books, articles and websites as well as all the sources of empirical data. Entries are made in alphabetical order according to the required writing style.

Appendices This is where you add other relevant research materials such as interviews, sample questionnaires, tables etc.

8. Writing styles guide: Writing Style guides is the source for you to write and format documents.

It is a formal documentation to be presented consistently across all communications. The style guide tells you how to be grammatically correct and how to ensure consistency across your own writing. The basic concept of this guidance is to make all the information readable

We can divide commonly used systems of documentation in four parts: APA style (American Psychological Association), used in education, psychology and the social sciences; MLA style (Modern Language Association), used in English and Humanities; Chicago/Turabian style, used in history, business and humanities and Harvard style, used as Author-Date system. Let us through brief light on them:

1) The APA citation style To increase the readiness of reading comprehension, APA (American Psychological Association) Style was originated in 1929, established by a group of psychologists, anthropologists, and business managers.

For ensuring clear and consistent representation of written material, APA citation style has its own rules and guidelines being witnessed by the publisher. APA Style pays attention to selection of headings, tone, and length, punctuation and abbreviations, presentation of numbers and statistics, construction of tables and figures, citation of references, etc.

The three kinds of information to be included in In-text citation are:

 Author's last name  Work's date of publication

 The page number

Understanding Reference List in APA Style: • The bibliographic information is displayed in a format called the Reference List.

• The entries are listed in alphabetical order, by the authors’ surnames.

• Only the initials of authors’ first names are used.

•

Multiple works by the same author should be arranged by publication date, starting with the earliest.

• The entire reference list should be double-spaced.

•

Article title or chapter title: only the first word of the title and of any subtitle is capitalized. There should be no italics or quotation

•

Book and report titles: only the first word of the title and of the subtitle should be capitalized. The title should be in italics with no

•

Periodical (journals, newsletters, magazines) titles: All major words in titles should be capitalized, and titles should also be italicized with no quotation marks.

•

Place of publication: For locations within Canada and the United States, the name of the city should be followed by a comma and the standard province or state abbreviation. For

locations outside

Canada and the United states, the city name should be followed Major Citations for a Reference List/Bibliography

Material Type A book in print

Reference List/Bibliography Baxter, C. (1997). Race equality in health care and education.

Philadelphia: Tindall.

Millbower, L.Ballière (2003).

Show biz training: Fun and effective stage, screen, and song. New York: AMACOM. Retrieved from http://www.amacombooks.org/

An eBook

An article print journal

in

a

Websites professional or personal sites

Alibali, M. W. (1999). How children change their minds: Strategy change can be gradual or abrupt. Developmental Psychology, The World Famous Hot Dog Site. (1999, July 7). Retrieved http://www.xroads.com/~tcs/hotdog/hotdog.html

Websites online government publications

2005.

Retrievedfromhttp://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/v age.htm

Emails (cited in-text only)

According to preservationist J. Mohlhenrich (personal communication, January 5, 2008).

Sepic, M. (Writer).

(2008, January 14). Federal prosecutors eye Things Considered.

Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/

Radio and TV episodes from website Film/Film from website

Clips

Photograph (from book, magazine or Artwork - from library database Artwork - from

Kaufman, J.-C. (Producer), Lacy, L. (Director), & Hawkey, P. m Close, C. (2002). Ronald. [photograph]. Museum of Modern Art, http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php? object_id=108890 Clark, L. (c.a. 1960's). Man with Baby. [photograph]. George Eastman NY. Retrieved from of Close, C. House, (2002).Rochester, Ronald. [photograph].

Museum Modern Art, http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php ? object_id=108 8 90

MLA Writing Guide MLA (Modern Language Association) style for documentation is widely used in the humanities, especially in writing on language and literature. MLA style features brief parenthetical citations in the text keyed to an alphabetical list of works cited that appears at the end of the work.

The three kinds of information to be included in In-text citation are:    

Author's name in text Author's name in reference Two authors' names in reference Quotation found in indirect or "secondhand" source

In MLA Style, there is an instruction to include Works Cited Page at the end of your page. Kindly have a look some of examples for MLA style citations.

Material Type Book in print

Works Cited Card, Claudia. The Atrocity Paradigm: A Theory of Evil.

Oxford: Oxford UP, 2005. Print.

EBook

An article in a print journal

Dzau, Victor J. and Mark A. Creager.

"Chapter 231: Diseases of the Aorta. "Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine 19 9 9.

McGraw-Hill.

Web. 7 "Minding Doggart, Julia.

Website - with author

the Gap: Realizing Our Ideal Community Writing Assistance Program."

The Community Journal Peace, Richard. Literacy “Fathers and

Website - online government publication

Children: Understanding Nature.”

The Novels of Turgenev: Symbols and Emblems. U of Bristol P, 20 2 00 United States. Dept. of Justice.

Bureau of Justice Statistics.

“Trends in Violent

Radio/TV episode - from website

Film - from website

Artwork - from website

Photograph

Victimization by Age, 19732005.” 10 Sept. 2006.Prosecutors Web. 3 Oct. 2006.

"Federal Eye MySpace Bullying Case." All Things Considered.

NPR.Perf.

14 Jan. 2008.

The Landlord.

Will Ferrell and Adam McKay. 2007. Funny or Die. Web. Close, Chuck. Ronald. 2002.

Museum of Modern Art, New York. MoMA. Web. 5 Viewing the Unfortunates at the Morgue.

N.d.

The Triangle Factory File. Cornell Univeristy ILR School, 2005. Web. 16

Chicago/ Turabian style Chicago style is somet imes referred to as T urabian style, which is a modified version of Chicago style. The Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) covers a variety of topics from manuscript preparation and publication to grammar, usage, and documentation and has been lovingly called the “editors’ bible.” This manual, which presents what is commonly known as the "Turabian" citation style, follows the two CMS patterns of documentation but offers slight modifications suited to student texts.

Chicago or Turabian Style is widely used in literature, history and arts. This citation style incorporates rules of grammar and punctuation common in American English. Typically, Chicago style presents two basic documentation systems: a) Notes and bibliography b) Author-date.

Choosing between the two often depends on subject matter and the nature of sources cited, as each system is favored by different groups of scholars.

The following examples illustrate citations using Chicago/ Turabian style: One author:

1. Malcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference (Boston: Little, Brown, 2000), 64–65.

2. Gladwell, Tipping Point, 71.

Gla dwell, M alcolm. The Tipp ing Point: How Little Things Can M ake a Big D ifference. Bos ton: Little, Br own, 2 0 0 0.

Article in a print journal: 1. Alexandra Bogren, “Gender and Alcohol: The Swedish Press Debate,” Journal of Gender Studies 20, no. 2 (June 2011): 156.

2. Bogren, “Gender and Alcohol,” 157.

Bogren, Alexandra. “Gender and Alcohol: The Swedish Press Debate.” Journal of Gender Studies 20, no. 2 (June 2011): 155–69.

Website : A citation to website content can often be limited to a mention in the text or in a note (“As of July 27, 2012, Google’s privacy policy had been updated to include . . .”). If a more formal citation is desired, it may be styled as in the examples below. Because such content is subject to change, include an access date and, if available, a date that the site was last modified.

1. “Privacy Policy,” Google Policies & Principles, last modified July 27, 2012, accessed January 3, 2013, http://www.google.com/policies/privacy/.

2. Google, “Privacy Policy.”

E-mail or message:

text

E-mail and text messages may be cited in running text (“In a text message to the author on July 21, 2012, John Doe revealed . . .�) instead of in a note, and they are rarely listed in a bibliography. The following example shows the more formal version of a note.

Joh n D oe, e-mail messa g e to au thor, July 21, 2 012.

Comment posted on a social networking service Like e-mail and text messages, comments posted on a social networking service may be cited in running text (“In a message posted to her Twitter account on August 25, 2011, . . .”) instead of in a note, and they are rarely listed in a bibliography. The following example shows the more formal version of a note.

1.

Sarah Palin, Twitter post, August 25, 2011 (10:23 p.m.), accessed September 4, 2011,

http://twitter.com/sarahpalinusa.

Harvard Style Guide Harvard is a commonly used method of referencing, which uses the Author-Date citation style. This is a guide only, based on Snooks and Co. 2002, Style manual for authors, editors and printers, 6th edn, John Wiley & Sons, Milton, Qld. 1. Citations in the text of your assignment should be made following the in-text guidelines.

2.

A complete list of all the citations used in your text will need to be provided at the end of your assignment. This is called your reference list or bibliography and needs to be presented in alphabetical author/originator order.

Kindly have a look at the Harvard Style Guidelines: Type of Resource

Book (1 author)

Format

Bibliography Example

In Text Example

FAMILY/SURNAME, Initials.

(Publication year in brackets) Book title – italicized or underlined. Series title

NEVILLE, C. (2010) The Complete Guide to Referencing and Avoiding Plagiarism . 2nd Ed. Maidenhead: Open

Neville (2010) rgues that.. .

“Quotation”

Book (2 to 3 authors)

Edition – if not the first.

Place of publication: publisher.

University Press.

(Neville, 2010, p.76)

FAMILY/SURNAME , Initials., FAMILY/SURNAME, Initials. and FAMILY/SURNAME, Initials.

(Publication year in brackets) Book title - italicised or underlined. Series title and volume if applicable. Edition – if not the first. Place of publication: Publisher

BRADBURY, I., BOYLE, J. and MORSE, A. (2002) Scientific Principles for Physical Geographers.Harlow: Prentice Hall.

Bradbury, Boyle and Morse (2002)...

As noted by Bradbury, Boyle Note: Use either “and” or and Morse (2002) “&” between “Quotation” authors’ (Bradbury, names as dictated by the Boyle and Morse, book’s 2002, p.51) own presentation .

It is discretionary as to CAMPBELL, N. A. et al. (2008) whether you list all Biology. 8thEd. London: authors and also Pearson. whether you use ‘etal.’ or ‘and others’ as below: FAMILY/SURNAME, Book Initials. et al. or and (4 or more authors) others. (Publication year in brackets) Book title italicised or underlined.

Series title and volume if applicable. Edition - if not the first. Place of publication:Publisher.

(Campbell et al., 2008)....

“Quotation ” (Campbell et al., p.76)

Book (Editor/s)

Chapter in an edited book

Corporat e authors (groups,

FAMILY/SURNAME, Initials. (ed.) or (eds.) – in brackets for editor(s).

(Publication year in brackets ) Book title - italicised or underlined. Series title and volume if applicable. Edition – if not the first. Place of

FONTANA-GIUSTI, G. (ed.) (Fontana-Giusti, (2008) Designing Cities for 2008) People: Social, Environmental and Psychological Sustainability.

London: Earthscan.

FAMILY/SURNAME, Initials of the author writing the chapter.

(Publication year in brackets) Title of chapter.

In: FAMILY/SURNAME, Initials. of author or editor of book (ed.) or (eds.). Book title italicised or underlined.

Series title and volume if applicable.

Edition – if not the first.

Place of publication: Includes publications by Government departments, Committees: COUNTRY. NAME OF ISSUING BODY. (Year of publication in brackets) Title of

MARSHALL, W. A. (1975) The Child as a Mirror of his Brain’s Development. In SANTS, J. & BUTCHER, H. J. (eds.). Development Psychology. Aylesbury, Bucks: Hazell Watson & Viney Ltd.

As noted by Marshall (1975)....

GREAT BRITAIN. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY. (1977) Tidal Power Barrages in the Severn Trent Estuary: Recent Evidence on their Feasibility. London: H. M.S. O. (Energy Papers 23)

The Great Britain Department of Energy (1977) concluded that...

“Quotation” (Marshall, 1975, p.76)

“Quotation”

committees, companies)

publication – in italics or underlined. Place of publication: Publisher.

(Report Number – if applicable in brackets).

(Great Britain, Department of Energy, 1977, p.12)

FAMILY/SURNAME, Initials.

(Publication year in brackets) Book title - italicised or underlined.[Online] Series title and volume if applicable. Edition - if not the first. Place of publication: Publisher.

Available from – URL. [Accessed: date].

SADLER, P. (2003) Strategic Management.

[Online] Sterling. VA Kogan Page. Available from : http://www.netlibrary.com/r ead er/. [Accessed: 6thMay 2012].

Sadler (2003) argues that..... ...

Title - in italics or underlined. (Year of distribution in brackets) Material type.

Films [DVD], Directed by [VHS], [Blu- – name of director(s).

[Format of source in ray Disc] square brackets] Place of distribution: Distribution company.

Chicken Run. (2000) Animated Film. Directed

by Peter Lord and Nick Park. [VHS] UK: Pathe Distribution. Requiem for a Dream. (2000) Film.

Directed by Darren Aronofsky.

[DVD] UK: Momentum Pictures.

If you refer to a film in the body of your work, the title will need to be underlined or placed in italics: ...the animation movemen t (Chicken Run, 2000) ...this is highlighted by Harry’s character in the

E-Book

“Quotation” (Sadler, 2003, p.18)

Journal article (electronic/o nli ne)

If you are referencing a journal from an online database service which is password accessible only i.e.

EBSCO you can shorten the URL to the home page of the database service. If you are accessing a journal article directly and for free from the internet, you will need the entire URL. Author(s) of article’s FAMILY/SURNAME, Initials. (Publication year in brackets) Title of article. Title of journal - italicised or underlined.

[Online in square brackets] Name of Database the article is from if appropriate.

Volume number (Part number/ month in brackets). p. followed by the page numbers of the article. Available from: URL. [Accessed:

Author(s) of article’s FAMILY/SURNAME, Initials. (Publication year in brackets) Journal article Title of article. Title of journal - italicised

WILSON, J. (1995) Enter the Cyberpunk librarian: future Directions in cyberspace.

Library Review.

[Online] Emerald Database 44 (8). p.63-72. Available from: http://www.emeraldinsight.c om. [Accessed: 30thJanuary 2012].

TREFTS, K. & BLACKSEE, S. (2000) Did you hear the one about Boolean Operators?

Incorporating comedy into the library induction.

Reference

Wilson (1995) argues that.....

“Quotation” Wilson, 1995, p.66)

Trefts and Blacksee (2000) argue that....

(printed)

Newspaper (online

Website

or Services Review. 28 (4). p.369underlined .

378.

Volume number (Part number/month in brackets). p. followed by the page numbers of the article.

“Quotation ” (Trefts and Blacksee, 2000, p.376)

Author(s) of article’s FAMILY/SURNAME, Initials. (Publication year in brackets) Title of article. Title of Newspaper italicised or underlined.

[Online in square brackets] Name of Database article is from if appropriate.

Day and month of the article. Page number of the article if applicable. Available from: URL. [Accessed: followed by the date viewed in Author of website FAMILY/SURNAME, Initials or WEBSITE name if no author is available. (Year - in brackets) Title of website in italics or underlined.

Any numbers if necessary

RANDERSON, J. (2008) Re searchers find fish that can count up to four. The Guardian.

[Online] 26 th February. p.14. Available from: http://theguardian.co.uk.

[Accessed: 22 nd May 2012].

Randerson (2008) argues that.....

BBC NEWS. (2008) Factory gloom worst since 1980. [Online] Available from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/b usin ess/7681569.stm.

[Accessed: 19 th June 2012].

...as reported by the BBC (2008)

“Quotation” (Randerson, 2008, p.14

“Quotation” (BBC, 2008)

[Online in square brackets] Available from: URL. [Accessed: followed by date in square brackets].

9. Resources: http://www.lib.sfu.ca/help/writing/mla http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/resdoc5e/list-of-style-manuals.htm http://libguides.reynolds.edu/content.php?pid=83290&sid=1016977 http://library.williams.edu/citing/annotated-bibliography.php http://www2.hawaii.edu/~matt/proposal.html http://www.meaning.ca/archives/archive/art_how_to_write_P_Wong.htm http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marjorie-hansen-shaevitz/college-essay-tips_b_1719862.html http://apply.jhu.edu/apply/essays/ http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/application-essays/ http://pitt.libguides.com/content.php?pid=101667&sid=764329 http://www.press.uchicago.edu/books/turabian/turabian_citationguide.html https://www.swinburne.edu.au/lib/studyhelp/harvard_style.html http://www.lib.sfu.ca/help/writing/apa http://writingprogram.uchicago.edu/resources/collegewriting/preparing_to_write_an d_drafting.htm